Overview

One Last Strike: Fifty Years in Baseball, Ten and a Half Games Back, and One Final Championship Season by Tony La Russa

One Last Strike by legendary baseball manager Tony La Russa is a thrilling sports comeback story. La Russa, the winner of four Manager of the Year awards—who led his teams to six Pennant wins and three World Series crowns—chronicles one of the most exciting end-of-season runs in baseball history, revealing with fascinating behind-the-scenes details how, under his expert management, the St. Louis Cardinals emerged victorious in the 2011 World Series despite countless injuries, mishaps, and roadblocks along the way. Talking candidly about the remarkable season—and his All-Star players like Albert Pujols and David Freese—the recently retired La Russa celebrates his fifty years in baseball, his team’s amazing recovery from 10 ½ games back, and one final, unforgettable championship in a book that no true baseball fan will want to miss.

Product Details

About the Author

Tony La Russa managed the St. Louis Cardinals from 1996 to 2011, as well as the Oakland A's and the Chicago White Sox. He has three World Series wins, six league championships, and five Manager of the Year awards, and is ranked third in all-time major league wins. He and his wife, Elaine, founded the Tony La Russa Animal Rescue Foundation in Walnut Creek, California. They have two daughters, Bianca and Devon.

Rick Hummel has covered baseball for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for forty years. A former president of the Baseball Writers Association of America, he has received numerous awards for his writing and has been honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

Editorial Reviews

For those moved by comebacks in sports, One Last Strike is a book to lift the spirit. Texas Rangers fans are excused.Dennis Drabelle

The Washington Post

With the assistance of St. Louis Post-Dispatch veteran baseball writer Hummel, former Major League Baseball manager La Russa dissects the game and his coaching style through the prism of the St. Louis Cardinals' improbable 2011 championship season. Though he wasn't a great player and spent most of his career in the minor leagues, La Russa found success with three different teams in both the American and National leagues and ended up as the third-winningest manager in the history of baseball before his retirement after the 2011 season. This is the fiery baseball guru's pitch-by-pitch account of that final season and how he successfully convinced an underachieving squad that they could climb back in the standings and win it all. The author largely eschews the interpersonal dramas often associated with America's pastime, instead focusing on his winning coaching process. That means an almost inning-by-inning deconstruction of key contests throughout the 2011 campaign. The approach will be familiar to die-hard baseball fans, especially those who fill out the scorecards for each game, but the venerable skipper throws a change-up here and there, harkening back to previous winning seasons with the Chicago White Sox and the Oakland Athletics. However, those forays are brief and ultimately serve to underscore some point or issue pertaining to the 2011 season. La Russa does share some of his feelings about members of the press, most of whom he doesn't care for. But here, once again, he doesn't dwell, only glossing over heated confrontations with annoying sportswriters before jumping headlong once more into the intricacies of managing the Cardinals to ultimate victory. A baseball exposé that keeps the focus squarely inside the ballpark.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

One Last Strike: Fifty Years in Baseball, Ten and a Half Games Back, and One Final Championship Season 4.3 out of 5based on
0 ratings.
15 reviews.

masa54

More than 1 year ago

Book really gives you a feel of the challenges that a manager goes through innning by inning as well as how to position your players to give the team the best opportunity to win.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

This book also shows that itis very hard being a manager in baseball. Well not just baseball, pretty much any sport. This book also shows that it is hard to be a baseball player. Anybody like me would think that a misquito could hit the ball, but it is not as easy as it looks.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

NACE STORE BRO!LOVIN THE STORY LINE!

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

DarinBob

More than 1 year ago

As a Cardinals fan, I try not to have a biased opinion. That's not really hard because I never was a Tony La Russa guy, myself. He was successful, no doubt. I came of age around the end of Ozzie Smith's tenure with the Cardinals and that always left a bad taste in my mouth. However, I appreciate exactly what Tony was able to share with us from this book. I found a new respect for him that I wish I carried during his long and amazing career as the manager of the Cardinals. Most of all, I came to respect his style of leadership more by reading this book. Very good stuff.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Awesome in-depth look into the 2011 championship season through the eyes of one of the greatest managers of all time. Probably most entertaining to fans of the Cardinals and true admirers of America's past-time.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

What a great read! A must read for every Cardinal fan and for every baseball fan, as well! Tony is a true HOF manager.

efm

More than 1 year ago

What a career and amazing man, husband, father. Hall Of Fame bound......

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